Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is used to help students maintain a positive mental attitude, regulate stress, and help sustain positive relationships with others. This therapy technique was developed, in the late 1980s, by Dr. Linehan of Seattle, Washington. It was originally developed for people that exhibit symptoms of self-destructive behavior. The underlying premise is to help people adjust to a constant changing world and maintain a sense of quality value in yourself. DBT helps encourage students to realize their strengths and special attributes that are unique to them. The techniques that are used help students begin to analyze their own behavior and identify any patterns of destructive behavior that can affect yourself and others around you. You can start to do this by identifying behavior or thoughts that are not helpful in your daily routine to maintain a positive outlook. Reflecting upon ourselves we can often find strategies that work for us to accept and tolerate anything that may come our way and be better prepared for the world. Ultimately the goal is to learn how to effectively communicate with ourselves and others in our life.

This collection of DBT worksheets will help students learn how to progress through each aspect of this form of behavioral therapy. We offer simple lessons that encourage students to share their own experiences and see if they can bring to words how this has helped them grow and get to better learn themselves. Over the course of all the worksheets we will investigate the four major tenets of DBT therapy which include being mindful of our existence and others, focusing our actions in a non-judgmental manner, understanding the nature of behaviors, and to approach things with dialectical thinking. The overall goal is for students to understand how their thoughts and actions affect their environment and the people with it.